Universal joint unit



U N I VE R S All J O l N l UN T Filed. July 2j 20 INVENTOR La Hee AfTOsmI-:Y

STT ES epilees moeren-'Jon 'il om@ Elvin L name, summum, Calif. Application .lilly 22, 1933 Serial No. Gillil'll s claims, (el eee-mill le invention. zeist-es particularly to e. imis t se joint siippoitlog means foiglere shields, eee mounted lo motor velileles. il mejor to pmviole particular mounting loi delli so that the letterz may" lieve e moge ol movement end be easily and goielrlv disposed in any desired position, as oon dltiorls met deil'lend and which also enables the deviee te be disposed when not in use, io. directn lv .liet Contact Willi the roof e?! the eer.,

iuitllei" o'bjeot is to provide e. joint structure im." elle purpose so eeristrueted that tlie tension oo tile ieletlvelv movable ports may loe readily adjusted. 'to suit elly particular condition.,

[l :lertliel: object el the invention is to produce o simple elle inexpensive device and yet one which 'will loe exceedingly effective for the purpose for vvilloli it is designed.,

"llllese objects l eecomplish by meses of such structure enel relative arrangement oi pants es will, fully e perusal of the iollowiig speelilestlo'o olellils.

'lei' ellereeteis oli ieierenoe il is view of e. modified forro o! et rlgflit angles to that of emilie pow more petieuleilv to the shares ori the drewing, the shield com e peiie l oi eeteiigiiler form ond preferm @less imptegneted tlifrouglxout with smoked oi grey appearance so *it iight pessime therethrough,

fitliei, suitelile materials however may be used 55* il? lieli of the beek side the e 'i e silver es indicated et lso del. seid 'eppev portion. eompletelv opaque ,e seme time give the oorlesporldiilg lisetiug properties so tio this eemfee as e, rees vie F mit@ 'cured to the plete.

roi". This speoiel type of shield is more particolorly claimed in my empending application loi' patent, Serial No. lllfll, filed July 22, 1333,

By reason of properly positioned will this eomstiuetion tlie pene when positively out ofi light otherwise passing through the windshield ol. the eer end the upper portion of the shield to the eyes of the driver,

end yet permits him to see through the lower portion of the shield with ample clearance for proper driving lout with ell glare eut owing to the smoked nature or the glass.

The

uppeiportion of the shield when disposed. serves es above .stated es a rear' vision mirroir; and et night the glare of headlights from the refer and reflected from the mirror are softened on account of the coloring of tile glassn The mirror ls mounted. :for movement iii dl@- fereot planes by a special form of universel joint which forms the subject mattei of this applica tion.

@ne suoli joint A is attached. to the lisci: of l tlie upper opaque portion of the shield eentrellv of its aree while the other joint lil is etteehedvto the transversely extending vertioel.

panel 3 ol the eer which as usual extends from the top oi the 'Windshield to the roof l of the een Certain members of the joints, es hereinafter described, are connected together 'by e rigid link d which supports the shield in relatively suspended rela tion to the panel.

Since the two joint units ere other only one will loe described joint tlieelore comprises e to lie seemed lsv duplicates of each in detail. Eeeli pese plete l adepte@ screws l to the panel or to the heel; oi the shield es the ease may lie.

plete of the joint A lies e. gasket t ol eork oi: tlie like interposed. between seid plete epd the edjeoent surface of the gloss to prevent possible breakage or scratching oi the sllvez comme;

Mounted on the plate t in exiellv ellned and longitudinally spaced relation are saddles 9 having leteielly projecting ere disposed so that lease eliges il) receiving screws i i by which. the saddles ere adjustebly sem The saddles on the joint i3 tiieii axes ere horizontal While tliose oro the joint A extend parallel to the longitudinal edges ol the shield,

Tur/imply mounted in vflileli also beets for ite the ,saddles is e. pivot l2 lull length against the plate 6, resistance to turning oi tlie slielt'belng governed liv adjustment; of the flanges lll of the from the plete slidably es seid saddles may lieve e, the slieit when the screws are "llle streit between the saddles screws i L The saddles are normally spaoed shown in Flex, 6 so that tight clamping grip on tightened down. is provided with a blind laterally extending bore I3 in which a. pin I4 turns, said pin projecting from the shaft to a point beyond the periphery of the saddles and being connected at its outer end to the adjacent end of the link 5 in non-turning relation, as shown at I5 in Fig. 7.

The pin is prevented from pulling out from the shaft and ease of rotation adjustably restricted by suitable means, two forms of such means being shown in Figs. 7 and 8. In the form shown in Fig. 'Z the shaft is bored from one end to communicate with the bore I3, as shown at I6. A ball I'I disposed in the bore bears against a curved circumferential groove G in the pin. lThis ball is pressingly held against said grooved surface by a compression spring I8 seated in the bore I3 and adjustably compressed by a screw plug I9 mounted in the outer end of -the bore I6.

In the type of device shown in Fig. 8 the same result is obtained by the use of a short plunger 2U disposed in the bore Ilia in the shaft I2a. The end of this plunger is curved to follow the contour of and engage the pin I4a and has an axial projection 2| engaging a circumferential groove 22 in the pin, so that the latter is prevented from moving axially. The plunger is pressed against the pin in the same manner as the ball-that is, by means of va compression spring Ia held in place by a screw plug I9a. The shaft I2 extends only to the ends of the supporting saddles so that a neat compact arrangement is had, longitudinal shifting of the shaft being positively prevented by the projecting portion of the pin I4 as an axis. Similarly the opposite end of the link may turn about the pin I4 of the. joint B as an axis and may independently turn about the corresponding shaft I2 as an axis.

I have determined from comparison that a much greater range of movement of the link and a correspondingly greater range of movement of the ball is possible with the use of my improved joint than with the form of ordinary ball joint. This is because the link is free to turn on end pin I4 through an arc of 180 even when said pin is turned so as to be parallel to the back plate, while said link can also swing through an arc of about the shaft I2 as an axis. This is not the case with the ordinary ball and socket type of-joint, as will be realized.

As a result, the shield may be easily swung to a great number of different positions when in use, both as regards the distance from the Windshield, its height relative to the panel 3 and with respect to the vertical plane of the iixed joint B transversely of the vehicle on which the shield is mounted. If the shield is tilted at a downward angle to the left, when driving at night or when the sun is low in the heavens toward the left of the car, the opaque upper portion of the shield shuts off the glare from the sun or from headlights approaching on the lefthand side of the road, while at the same time perfect driving vision of the right hand side of faosaaoa the road is had through the upwardly tilted lower portion of the shield. The shield may also be swung up to lie flat against the roof of the car when not in use, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. Since resistance to turning of the rotatable parts may be adjusted to almost any degree by adjusting the saddle screws I I or the plug I9, these parts may be arranged so that while the shield may be easily pulled or pushed to any desired position, it will not be dislodged from such position by any vibrations incident to the operation of the car.

. While I have particularly designed and described this joint unit for use in connection with glare shields, I wish it understood that I do not desire to limit myself to such use of the joint unit, since it may be adapted for other types of service or under any conditions which call for the support of a member for universal movement relative to a fixed surface.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as Substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I y claim as new and useful and desire to secure by extending radially therefrom, said shaft having' a radial socket into which the pin turnablyy projects, a rigid link projecting radially from the outer end of the pin, said pin having a cir-i cumferential groove about its socket enclosed portion, an element slidably mounted in the shaft axially thereof and engaging said groove and the adjacent periphery of the pin, and a spring yieldably pressing said element against the pin.

3. A universal joint comprising an axially turnable shaft, mounting means turnably supporting the same, a pin extending radially from the shaft, said shaft having a blind radial socket into which the pin turnably projects, a link rigid with and projecting radially from the outer end of the pin; and means concealed within the shaft and engaging the adjacent portion of the pin to hold the latter against axial movement while allowing it to rotate.

ELVIN L. BAIIEE. 

